Hilda Haberstroh, 86, of Mott, ND passed away early Saturday morning, June 27, 2015 at the Mott Good Samaritan Society.

A Service Celebrating the Life of Hilda will be held on Friday, July 3, 2015 at 10:30 a.m. at the Evangelical Community Church in Mott, ND with Pastor Ed Billock, officiating. Burial will follow at the Neuberg Cemetery, north of Burt, ND.

A Family Service will be held on Thursday at 7 pm at the Evangelical Community Church. Visitations will be from 1 – 5:30 pm at the Evanson Jensen Funeral Home, Mott , and one hour prior to the funeral service at the church.

Hilda Helen (Kirsch) Haberstroh was born on October 17, 1928, as the seventh of twelve children to Jacob and Lydia (Siewert) Kirsch. She spent her childhood on the family farm north of Burt. Her life was marked by her care for family, commitment to Christ, and a desire to learn through avid reading. Although she received an eighth grade education in a country school, in many ways, her insight and wisdom exceeded many with more formal education.

On November 17, 1948, she married Jacob Haberstroh. They moved onto the Haberstroh Family homestead four miles from her birthplace, settling into a life of farming and raising a family. Their marriage was blessed with 13 children, 7 boys and 6 girls. Dairy farming was added and became a mainstay of their farming operation. The entire family became engaged in the daily routine of running the farm.

Life was challenging and good, but in the fall of 1983, Jake developed a malignant brain tumor and died on October 20th. Left with 4 children still at home to raise, Hilda made the difficult decision to keep the dairy and family farm. To assist her, one son, Kenny, left college to return and help until a younger brother, Rod, was able to take over farming. Throughout these events, her faith in God deepened as did her simple strength, work ethic, and character, resulting in respect and admiration from those who knew her. While it might have been easy to lose a zeal for life, her wit, humor, and ability to not take herself too seriously, endeared her to many.


Living on the family farm, meant that life revolved around farming activities. She was always engaged in the farming operation, even if it was simply knowing about the crops. Farm animals, wildlife, gardening, and raising a family brought her deep satisfaction.

As her family grew through marriages, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, Hilda always strove to keep up to date and engage with each member of her family. She was at ease in extending hospitality, cooking meals, and providing care during family visits. Even in the chaos of family coming and going, she was able to find time for personal respite in reading, or playing games. Hilda was a bedrock of stability and virtue for her family.

The foundational mark of Hilda's life was her unwavering faith in Jesus Christ. Prayer, Bible reading and study, singing hymns, and participation in church were consistently part of her life, even in the testing and refining that the trials of life brings. This was reflected in her journals, writing of poems and articles for special events, giving to help others, keeping up with current events, and the enjoyment of her children.

After Hilda entered the Good Samaritan Nursing Home on March 3, 2015, and facing the struggles of aging, her commitment to Christ and family remained prominent. Her delight was in all the visitors she received until her death on June 27, 2015, when she died peacefully in her sleep, as she wished.

Hilda is survived by her sons and daughter-in-laws; Marlin and Cindy Haberstroh, Aurora, CO; Lyle and Susan Haberstroh, Hettinger, ND; Wayne Haberstroh, Justin, TX; Kenney Haberstroh, Justin, TX; Rodney Haberstroh, Mott, ND; Gary and Ginny Haberstroh, Mandan, ND; Brian and Gail Haberstroh, West Lafayette, IN; her daughters and sons-in-law; Charlotte and Dan Ackerman, Idaho Falls, ID; Colleen and Dave Little, Prior Lake, MN; Connie and Tim Weltey, Ankeny, IA; LaVonna and Roy Fuchs, Mandan, ND; Renell and Lee Grosz, Mott, ND; her grandchildren; Carrie (Rene') Roy, Aurora, CO; Laura (Kirk) Groves, Paradise, PA; Melissa Haberstroh, Spearfish, SD; Nichole (Jeff) Boynton, Bowman, ND; Kara (Matt) Kelley, Fargo, ND; Stephanie Haberstroh, Dallas, TX; Stacy Haberstroh, Dallas, TX; Rob Hanna, Bismarck, ND; Danielle Hanna, Washburn, ND; Jacob Haberstroh, West Lafayette, IN; Justin Haberstroh, West Lafayette, IN; Ethan (Jennifer) Ackerman, Alexandria, VA; Luke (Michaela) Ackerman, Baltimore, MD; Jacob Little, San Francisco, CA; Josh Little (fiance' Erin Ross) Chicago, IL; T.J. Little, Mpls, MN; Anna Little, Prior Lake, MN; Tanyushka Little, Prior Lake, MN; Elisabeth Welty, Birmingham, AL; Nathan Welty, Mpls. MN; Luke (Sarah) Welty, Fredrick, CO; Jared (Jaime) Fuchs, Bismarck, ND; Andy (Stephanie) Fuchs, Duluth, MN; Clint Grosz, Amidon, ND; Tyler Grosz (fiance' Rachel Abeh), Mott, ND; Jay Grosz, Dickinson, ND; her great-grandchildren; Tilda, Raif, Amelia, Jace, Ava, Harper, McKinley, Lily, Marin, Everett, Anders, Kekoa, Ikaika, Azariah; brothers, Elmer Kirsch, Bismarck, ND; Arnold Kirsch, Mott, ND, Norman (Judy) Kirsch, Wyandotte, MI; sisters, Sarah Tompkins, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Leona Stern, New Leipzig, ND; and sister-in-law- Alberta Kirsch, Dickinson, ND.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; her daughter, Denise Haberstroh; sisters, Erna Zimmerle, Martha Heupel, Lydia Heupel, Alvina Bertsch, Olinda Kirsch; and brother, Herman Kirsch.